[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H9925-H9926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RAGGEDS WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND LAND CONVEYANCE

  Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 589) to provide for a boundary adjustment and land 
conveyance involving the Raggeds Wilderness, White River National 
Forest, Colorado, to correct the effects of earlier erroneous land 
surveys.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 589

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND LAND CONVEYANCE, RAGGEDS 
                   WILDERNESS, WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST, 
                   COLORADO.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) certain landowners in Gunnison County, Colorado, who 
     own real property adjacent to the portion of the Raggeds 
     Wilderness in the White River National Forest, Colorado, have 
     occupied or improved their property in good faith and in 
     reliance on erroneous surveys of their properties that the 
     landowners reasonably believed were accurate;
       (2) in 1993, a Forest Service resurvey of the Raggeds 
     Wilderness established accurate boundaries between the 
     wilderness area and adjacent private lands; and
       (3) the resurvey indicates that a small portion of the 
     Raggeds Wilderness is occupied by adjacent landowners on the 
     basis of the earlier erroneous land surveys.
       (b) Purpose.--If it the purpose of this section to remove 
     from the boundaries of the Raggeds Wilderness certain real 
     property so as to permit the Secretary of Agriculture to use 
     the authority of Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the 
     ``Small Tracts Act'') (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.) to convey the 
     property to the landowners who occupied the property on the 
     basis of erroneous land surveys.
       (c) Boundary Adjustment.--The boundary of the Raggeds 
     Wilderness, Gunnison and White River National Forests, 
     Colorado, as designed by section 102(a)(16) of Public Law 96-
     560 (94 Stat. 3267; 16 U.S.C. 1132 note), is hereby modified 
     to exclude from the area encompassed by the wilderness a 
     parcel of real property approximately 0.86-acres in size 
     situated in the SW\1/4\ of the NE\1/4\ of Section 28, 
     Township 11 South, Range 88 West of the 6th Principal 
     Meridian, as depicted on the map entitled ``Encroachment-
     Raggeds Wilderness'', dated November 17, 1993.
       (d) Map.--The map described in subsection (c) shall be on 
     file and available for inspection in the appropriate offices 
     of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.
       (e) Conveyance of Land Removed From Wilderness Area.--The 
     Secretary of Agriculture shall use the authority provided by 
     Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the ``Small Tracts 
     Act'') (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.) to convey all right, title, 
     and interest of the United States in and to the real property 
     excluded from the boundaries of the Raggeds

[[Page H9926]]

     Wilderness under subsection (c) to the owners of real 
     property in Gunnison County, Colorado, whose real property 
     adjoins the excluded real property and who have occupied the 
     excluded real property in good faith reliance on an erroneous 
     survey.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Idaho [Mrs. Chenoweth] and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. 
Faleomavaega] each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Idaho [Mrs. Chenoweth].
  Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mrs. CHENOWETH asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, Senate bill 589 provides for a boundary 
adjustment and land conveyance involving the Raggeds Wilderness, White 
River National Forest, Colorado, to correct the effects of earlier 
erroneous land surveys. This bill is identical to legislation which 
passed within the House of Representatives earlier this year as H.R. 
1019.
  In 1993, following a boundary survey, the White River National Forest 
discovered an encroachment in the Raggeds Wilderness area just west of 
the town of Marble in Colorado. The encroachment consists of 
approximately 400 feet of power line and 450 feet of road. In addition, 
portions of four subdivision lots extend into the wilderness. The road 
is a country road and provides the sole legal access to these four 
lots. The entire encroachment is less than 1 acre of land.
  The Bureau of Land Management Forest Service surveys found that the 
original survey of the Crystal Meadows subdivision was erroneous, and 
although less than 1 acre is affected, the Forest Service cannot settle 
the matter under the authority of the Small Tracts Act because the 
lands in question are within the Raggeds Wilderness area. The 
wilderness boundary may only be modified by an act of Congress, and S. 
589 follows the guidelines established by the Small Tracts Act, Public 
Law 97-465.
  This bill is noncontroversial, Mr. Speaker, and I urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, the House passed H.R. 1019 on June 3, 
1997, and the text has returned to us with a Senate bill number.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill adjusts the boundaries of the Raggeds 
Wilderness in the White River National Forest in Colorado to 
accommodate landowners who occupy the property on the basis of 
erroneous land surveys. It conveys about 1 acre of land on which roads 
and other improvements were inadvertently constructed. The legislation 
is noncontroversial, and the administration does not object. I ask my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
American Samoa [Mr. Faleomavaega] for his comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Idaho [Mrs. Chenoweth] that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 589.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5, rule I, and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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